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University of North Carolina Athletics
Worthy Named To College Basketball Hall Of Fame
February 28, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2011
CHAPEL HILL - James Worthy, who led North Carolina to the 1982 NCAA title with a 28-point performance in the championship game, is one of eight players, coaches and contributors who will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, the National Association of Basketball Coaches announced today.
Worthy will be inducted in Kansas City, Mo., on November 20th, along with players Chris Mullin (St. John's), Cazzie Russell (Michigan) and Ralph Sampson (Virginia), coaches Bob Knight and Eddie Sutton and contributors Joe Vancisin and Eddie Einhorn.
The 2011 class is the sixth in the College Basketball Hall's history. Dean Smith, Roy Williams, Larry Brown, Frank McGuire, Bob McAdoo and Billy Cunningham were members of the first class in 2006.
Worthy, a native of Gastonia, N.C., averaged 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a Tar Heel, leading Carolina to consecutive appearances in the national championship game. He made 13 of 17 shots against Patrick Ewing's Georgetown Hoyas to lead UNC to the 1982 NCAA championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. In 1982, he was the Helms Foundation's National Player of the Year, the ACC Tournament and East Regional MVP, and the ACC Athlete of the Year. In 1994, he was named one of the ACC's 50 Greatest Players in the league's first 50 seasons.
The Los Angeles Lakers selected Worthy with the number one pick in the 1982 NBA Draft. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star and won three NBA championships with the Lakers, including 1988 when he had 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 7 of the Finals against the Detroit Pistons and was named series MVP.
Worthy was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2003.